


A Lot to be Thankful For

by TexasRevoFan (Lemonsaresweet)



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: F/M, Thanksgiving, corn/porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-03 09:39:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5285849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemonsaresweet/pseuds/TexasRevoFan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie convinces Bass to come to the Matheson Thanksgiving dinner. As they sit around discussing pre-Blackout days, Charlie and Bass come dangerously close to revealing their true feelings. When Bass backs away from her, Charlie reaches a decision. They both quickly find they have a lot to be thankful for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lot to be Thankful For

“You have to come,” Charlie pleaded. “If you don’t, I’ll be stuck with just Miles and my mom…” She stuck out her tongue in exaggerated disgust. “And Aaron and Cynthia, who can’t talk about anything these days besides plans for their baby. Come on, please…” 

Bass frowned, but inwardly he was smiling at Charlie’s charade. She knew damn well he had nowhere else to be on Thanksgiving and that an invitation to the Matheson family dinner was his only chance for spending the night doing something other than getting drunk and hating his life. He also knew that Charlie realized he would be embarrassed by any invitation that seemed like a pity-invite, so she was working hard to make it seem like Bass was the one doing her a favor. Briefly, he wondered when she’d gotten to know him so well. 

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Bass said. “Should I bring anything?” 

Charlie gestured across the bar at him. “You’re the bartender. Figure it out.” 

“Right,” Bass agreed. “Rotgut it is.”

Charlie flashed him that grin that always broke his heart a little bit, nodded, and turned to walk out of the bar. “See you there!” 

* * *

The flames of the fire in the fire pit were burning hot, bright, and high. Bass, Charlie, Miles and Rachel sat sipping post-dinner drinks and talking. The Matheson family Thanksgiving dinner had been a success. The food had been good, the conversation light and happy, and Bass and Rachel managed not to offend each other for once. After they’d all eaten, the Pittmans had headed home right away. “She gets tired so easily these days,” Aaron had said protectively, putting his arm around Cynthia’s shoulders. 

Now Miles and Bass were engaged in their favorite holiday pastime, which was reminiscing about pre-Blackout things they missed that were specific to that particular holiday. On the Fourth of July, Charlie had to hear about the wonders of grilled hot dogs, which from their descriptions actually sounded disgusting. On Halloween, they went on and on about candy called Snickers, Milky Way, and Skittles, which sounded better. And now, they were discussing football. 

“Back in the day, we’d be watching a game right now,” Bass complained. “Now our entertainment consists of burning logs.” 

Miles agreed, “Yeah. Man, remember _going_ to games at Soldier Field? That was the best.” 

Bass laughed, “Seemed like we always got into some shit whenever we would go.” 

“What!” Miles exclaimed. “That is so unfair.” 

Bass began ticking off on his fingers. “That game where you got into a fight with the Lions fan. That other time, when you ripped up that guy’s sign because it was for the opposing team. That time you hit on that girl and it turned out she had a twin…” 

Miles was obviously fighting to keep a grin off his face and glanced nervously at Rachel. Charlie just rolled her eyes, grinning herself. She’d spent enough time with Miles and Bass over the last few months, running missions for Blanchard, that she was used to this particular brand of bullshit from the two of them. It didn’t bother her. In a way, it was kind of adorably pathetic how proud they were of their exploits of nearly 20 years ago. 

“I don’t think they were twins,” Miles corrected Bass gruffly. “They were just both redheads.” 

“Oh, sorry,” Bass said, grinning widely. “And then you let one of them drive your precious Mustang…” he continued with glee.

“Don’t.” Miles tried to interrupt, but Bass continued undeterred. 

“And she crashed it into that fire hydrant!” Bass completed the story and held his hand up in a mock-toast then took a triumphant swig of his whiskey. “She made it up to you, though, didn’t she?” he added suggestively. 

“All right, that’s enough,” Rachel said suddenly, standing up. “This trip down memory lane has been charming, but I’m going to bed. Miles, you coming?” She didn’t wait for him to answer and just stomped off. 

Miles glared at Bass. “Nice,” he said. “Guess I’m going in.” 

Bass looked completely unrepentant. “Sweet dreams,” he replied. Miles said his goodnight to Charlie and headed out. 

Left alone with Bass, Charlie suddenly felt like she should fill the silence. “A Mustang was like a fancy sports car, right?” she asked. 

Bass nodded. “Miles was obsessed with his. Wouldn’t let anyone get in with muddy shoes, constantly working on it. He loved driving that thing. I think you would have liked driving, too.” 

“Really? Why?” Charlie said. 

“It was a good way to get away from everything, be by yourself, just out on the open road. But if you had a friend with you, that could be good too. The two of you could just shoot the shit, no interruptions.” He paused, a wistful smile on his face. “Miles and I took so many long drives, who knew where the hell we were going. But those were good times.” 

Charlie gave a small smile at his reminiscing. “It’s so hard to picture you guys back then. So hard to imagine what life would be like now, if the Blackout had never happened.” 

Bass paused, and Charlie knew why. They never talked about this, not really. The “what ifs” were too painful for those who had lived through the Blackout and had clear memories of before. For Charlie, it was more of an interesting speculation, since she’d never known anything different. 

“Yeah… if it had never happened…” Bass started. “Miles and I would probably still be Marines. Or maybe just retired. God, he’d probably still be pining after Rachel,” he said with a roll of his eyes, then met Charlie’s gaze. “Sorry.” 

Charlie dismissed the apology with a wave of her whiskey glass. “He probably would,” she agreed. “What about me? Think I’d be living with them in that world, too?” The fact that Charlie didn’t yet have her own place in town was a sore spot with her. 

“Nah,” Bass said. “You’d be in college. Or I guess just graduated. Working some cushy office job, like social media consultant or marketing assistant.” 

“You realize I have no idea what those mean, right?” Charlie said. “Sitting in an office all day, though… think I like this life better.” They sat in silence for a few seconds, and she added. “You and I probably wouldn’t know each other.” 

Bass raised his eyebrows. “Oh, I’m sure we would. Miles was always dragging me to family shit before it happened. Christmas, summer barbeques… think he was worried I’d be too depressed if I were alone. Probably right.” 

Charlie was surprised. She heard occasional references to Bass being around her family before the Blackout, but she didn’t realize it was that frequent. “So I would have known you growing up,” she mused. “Probably would have had some big crush on you.” Immediately, she was appalled at herself and tried to backtrack. “I mean, considering how you and Miles make it sound like every woman within a twenty-foot radius would immediately rip their clothes off for you.” Er, not any better. Damnit. 

Bass laughed but let her off the hook. “Nah. Not you. You’re the type of girl who never fell for our shit. Too smart, too confident… of course that just makes you more attractive. Being unattainable.” 

Charlie felt her heart thumping as this theoretical conversation suddenly felt very non-theoretical. She tried to steer it back on track. “Yeah, right. I’m sure if you watched me grow up you’d have just seen me as Miles’ annoying kid niece.” 

“Hmm,” Bass said through a mouthful of whiskey, then swallowed. “Annoying, definitely, you have your moments. But I can’t imagine thinking of you as a kid now. If anything, I’d be your uncle’s creepy-ass old friend.” He actually laughed at that. “Not sure if that’s better or worse than what I actually am.” 

Charlie smirked. “Yeah, it’s hard to think of you as creepy. You’re a lot of things, but not that.” 

“Cold… sociopath… killer…” Bass was fond of bringing up the words she had used to roast him in the wilderness the night after Pottsboro. 

“You know that’s not how I see you anymore,” she replied. 

“Yeah? And how do you see me?” Bass said, a challenge in his voice.

Charlie was silent. She didn’t know how to respond. After a few seconds, Bass said, “Never mind. Shouldn’t have asked?” Getting up, he said, “Think I’m gonna call it. Goodnight, Charlie.” 

Charlie drew her legs up to her body and wrapped her arms around them. She shivered as Bass walked back into the house. 

What had just happened? Charlie was confused and frustrated, as she often was where Bass was concerned. What the hell did he want from her? Some declaration of love? So he could laugh at her for being a dumb kid? Or get pissed off, as he seemed to be half the time? 

But deep down, Charlie knew that Bass wouldn’t call her a kid if she told him how she really felt about him. And he probably wouldn’t be pissed off, either. If their long glances and the soft looks he gave her when he thought she wasn’t looking were any indication, he’d probably be more than happy to hear it. But Charlie wasn’t sure if she was ready to say it. 

Suddenly, Charlie heard the door to the house open behind her, and she twisted around in surprise. Bass was approaching her again, with a heavy blanket in his hand. He came up beside her and tossed it into her lap, and Charlie recognized it as the quilt from his bed. Her heart quickened at the implications. 

“You looked cold,” Bass said in response to her quizzical face. 

“Don’t you need it?” Charlie said. 

Bass shrugged. “I’ll get it back when you’re done.” 

Charlie tucked her arms underneath the blanket and pulled it up to her chin. “Thanks, Bass,” she said sincerely. 

Reaching down, Bass pulled the edge of the blanket up higher to cover her shoulder. When he had it in place, his hand lingered on her shoulder for a second or two, suffusing her body with warmth. Finally, he squeezed her shoulder slightly and pulled his hand away and once again walked into the house. 

Charlie sat out by the fire for a long while. She wasn’t exactly sure how much time passed. As she sat, she thought about Bass. Being wrapped in his blanket made it hard not to – it smelled like him. Charlie felt that the warmth flowing through her was from more than just the blanket itself. 

Finally, Charlie came to a decision. Gathering the blanket around her, wrapping it like a cape, she made her way into the house and upstairs to Bass’ room. She made she sure to make noise as she opened the door, so as not to startle him. 

She needn’t have worried. Bass was sitting up in bed, reading by candlelight, as she entered. He had changed into the long sleeved t-shirt and cotton pants he wore for pajamas. He glanced up as she came in, waiting for her to speak. 

“Figured you’d need this back before morning,” Charlie said in explanation. 

“Thanks,” Bass said, setting his book aside and reaching out one hand for the blanket. Instead of giving it to him, Charlie crawled onto the bed with it still wrapped around her, balancing on her knees next to Bass. Turning, she whipped it off and sat down so she could spread it over the two of them. 

“You’re in my bed,” Bass pointed out unnecessarily. He sounded his usual cocky and amused self, but Charlie could hear a hint of edginess in his tone as well. 

“That a problem?” Charlie asked, suddenly self-conscious. What if she’d totally misread what was going on between them? This could be completely humiliating. 

“Depends on why,” Bass replied. 

Charlie turned on her side so that the front of her body was lying against Bass and put one hand on his chest, “What if I just want to say thank you for the blanket?” 

Bass’ body tensed against hers, then he sighed and put his hand over hers and moved it off of him. Not looking at her, he said in a low voice, “This isn’t a game, Charlie.” 

Somehow she felt chastened. “What’s not a game?” she asked. 

Bass finally met her eyes and glared. “You don’t get to just crawl into my bed one night for God knows what reason. Feeling tipsy? Sentimental because it’s the holiday, maybe?” 

This had been a mistake, Charlie realized. A huge mistake. She needed to get out while she still had some of her dignity intact. “Fine,” she snapped. “You don’t want me here, I’ll go.” 

She moved to get up, and Bass’ arm shot out and grabbed hers. “Let’s be clear,” he said in a low tone. “I want you here. But not just tonight, and not because you’re bored, or horny. You come to me this once, and if I let you in, and I’m never going to want you to leave.” 

Charlie exhaled a shaky breath at Bass’ intensity and sat back close to him. “I… I came here to answer your question.” Bass looked confused, and she continued, “You asked me how I see you now. And the answer is, I see in you all the things I never knew I wanted. Needed. Your strength. Your brilliance. The way you really understand me in a way no one ever has before…” She paused. “I’m not here for just a one time thing either. I’m here because I finally realized that I need to be.” 

Slowly, she scooted over to Bass and onto him so that she was straddling his lap. He rested his hands lightly on her jean-clad hips and didn’t push her away. Charlie savored the feel of his warm body beneath her, of finally having the freedom to touch him as she’d wanted to for so long. It was such an abundance of riches, she didn’t know where to start, but she finally settled for putting her hands on his strong, bare shoulders. Charlie leaned in, then, and pressed her lips to Bass’. 

At first he kissed her back gently, but Charlie could feel him losing the battle with his reserve. He sat up harder against her and wrapped his arms around her back, crushing her into his chest as the kiss deepened, his tongue probing against hers. He tasted of whiskey, and fire smoke, and raw masculinity, and Charlie’s head was spinning with arousal. She grinded down on his hardness beneath her, drawing a groan from Bass. 

Quickly, Charlie rolled to the side and unfastened her jeans, pushing them down and tossing them aside, then was quickly back astride Bass, this time with only her thin cotton panties and his pajamas as a barrier between them. Charlie gasped at the sensation as she felt Bass’ hard heat resting at the “v” of her thighs. She dropped her head down to kiss him once again as she rocked against his erection, heightening both of their arousal to near-intolerable levels. 

“Charlie,” Bass broke their kiss with a desperate growl. “Please. Need you.” He was barely coherent, but she knew what he needed. Still, she’d had an image of how she wanted this encounter to go. So instead of pushing their clothes aside and taking Bass inside her, tempting as it was, she slithered down his body. Charlie rubbed one hand over his straining erection even as the other lifted the waistband of his pants up and over his cock. Bass groaned as it became obvious what she intended to do. 

She had to taste him, first. Charlie ran her tongue up Bass’ rigid shaft, then closed her lips over the head of his cock. She sucked him eagerly, swallowing the precum dripping from his tip and tasting the musky flavor of Bass’ manhood on her tongue. One hand gently cradled his balls and the other grasped his base as his cock invaded her mouth. 

Charlie took him deep, feeling his dick hitting her soft palate. She loved the effect she was having on Bass as he bucked and writhed beneath her, cursing and praising in alternate breaths. Finally, he warned her with a gasp, “Gonna come…” and she immediately pulled her mouth off him. 

“Not yet,” she warned, and he helped her climb back astride him, nearly throwing her against his chest, trapping his cock between them. Charlie gasped slightly, catching her breath, then rubbed her wet slit against the long ridge of Bass’ erection. As she worked herself against him, his cock slipped into position, poised at her entrance, and she savored the moment briefly. She looked at Bass and saw that his head was thrown back, his eyes closed tight and his face contorted as he fought for control, to let her lead, to wait for her. 

“Bass,” she said, and his eyes flew open and met hers, scorching her with blue flame. Charlie held his gaze as she slowly sank down on him, taking him inside her for the first time. Once she was fully impaled on his cock, she began to rock her hips. Bass loosed some of his tight control, bucking his hips up to meet her, getting himself even deeper inside her as they were joined at last. 

It had been so long in coming. In a way, the last few months felt like foreplay, with all their heated gazes, lingering touches, and forbidden fantasies. Charlie felt Bass hitting all the right places inside her, and it felt amazing. Then he reached down between them and softly rubbed her clit, not too aggressively, just enough to give her sensation there as well. The combination was perfect, and Charlie soon felt herself grinding down on him harder, wanting more, demanding all he had to give. She finally exploded into her orgasm, falling against Bass’ chest as her body shuddered uncontrollably with her release. 

As soon as Charlie had come, Bass’ hands grasped her ass, and he pistoned his cock into her harder, faster. Charlie held onto him tightly, feeling his muscles working beneath her. After a few more deep thrusts, Bass tensed against her. He groaned helplessly into Charlie’s ear, bucking up into her with small spams as he came hard inside her. 

They stayed like that, wrapped around each other, for several minutes. Eventually, they laid down underneath the quilt that had started it all and went back to sleep. 

_One year later…_

Charlie and Bass were at the bar, cleaning up and preparing to close. In an hour or so, they were expected at the Thanksgiving dinner being hosted by Rachel and Miles. They had gotten their own house several months before, so they didn’t see as much of the Mathesons as they had when they all lived under the same roof. This would be a nice opportunity for them to catch up. As Charlie kept reminding Bass, who kept grumbling about how Rachel always glared at him. 

“You know,” Charlie commented idly. “This means it’s exactly one year since the first time we… you know.” 

Bass raised one eyebrow at her suggestively. “Oh, I know. It’s not like I would forget that particular Thanksgiving day. Had a lot to be thankful for on that one.” 

Charlie laughed. “Yeah? And what are you thankful for this year?” 

“Hmm,” Bass said teasingly, running his hand over her ass. Then he turned serious and said, “I’m thankful for you. Every damn day. That you gave me a chance, that you love me. I’m the luckiest guy ever.” 

Charlie smiled, “I do love you. And I feel pretty damn thankful, too. That we found each other. That you saved me so many times. In so many ways.” 

Bass held her close, looking down into her face, then seemed to come to some kind of a decision. “I was going to wait until Christmas to do this,” he said, getting down on one knee. “But I just realized: I don’t want to wait another second.” He dug in his pocket for a couple seconds, then pulled out a small gold ring and held it up to Charlie, who was covering her mouth with both hands as her eyes filled with tears. 

“Charlotte Matheson, you’re the love of my life. I don’t want to imagine what my world would be without you in it, and I want you by my side for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?” Bass’ trademark confident smile was in place, but Charlie could plainly see the vulnerability and love shining in his eyes as he asked her to give herself to him. 

For a few seconds, all Charlie could do was nod, then she finally found her voice. “Absolutely. Hell yes,” she said, laughing with joy. “Now get up here and kiss me.” 

Bass did just that, covering her mouth with his. Then he lifted her hand and slipped the ring on her finger, taking her hand in both of his. 

“Happy Thanksgiving, babe,” Bass said. “And thanks for saying yes.” 

Charlie laughed and shook her head affectionately. “Yeah, happy Thanksgiving. And you’re welcome.” 

_The End._

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the Cornucopia/Pornucopia challenge from The Good Ship Charloe. So proud for getting this posted before Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday who celebrates it. And remember, all authors are thankful for comments, so please be generous!


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